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Subject: 
RE: Spybotics - A great disappointment
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics
Date: 
Wed, 24 Jul 2002 17:48:13 GMT
Original-From: 
Marco Correia <marco@^NoSpam^soporcel.pt>
Reply-To: 
<(marco@soporcel)stopspam(.pt)>
Viewed: 
1111 times
  
-----Original Message-----> Marco Correia
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2002 5:44 PM
-----Original Message-----> Of Dave Baum
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2002 2:50 AM
It is programmed using visible light, but the commands are very
different from CodePilot/MicroScout.  The protocol itself is just
4800bps turned into light.  The packets have a simple format
(preable, data bytes, checksum).  The commands in the packets are
identical to RCX commands (minus a few commands that aren't
supported, plus a few new ones).

From what Jake said at lugnet.lego.direct and from what you say above,
I don't understand if IR or Visible Light (or both !?!?) are used to
download programs to the Spybot.

About VLL, from Jake McKee:
[...]
It is possible, though, to send and receive VLL messages through the light
sensor and the red LED at the back of the robot. For that to work, the
Spybot needs to be disconnected from the PC-cable.
[...]

That's a *very good* thing, *both* VLL INPUT and OUTPUT in a IR capable
brick.

I don't know if the VLL input is treated like a VLL message (that's good) or
a VLL command (that's bad) making the Spybot do some pre-configured action,
like MicroScout.

About IR, from Jake McKee:
[...]
they use a 'standard' IR communication scheme. Very much like the RCX's
but double the speed and half the message size, so four times as efficient.
[...---...]
Yes, a Spybot can send RCX/Scout messages and an RCX 2.0 (possibly also
an RCX 1.x with 2.0 firmware - effective range may be shorter) can send
Spybot messages, just like it can send LEGO Bionicle Manas control • messages.
The Spybots use the same 3-channel RC protocol as the LEGO Bionicle Manas
[...]

So, it looks like it accepts IR with the same protocol of MANAS
i.e. IR input @4800 (if I'm not mistaken)
and is capable of sending RCX/Scout compatible messages
i.e. IR output @2400 (again, if I'm not mistaken)

If, like RCX2, we can set the bps of IR, it will be possible to
do IR output @4800, so it looks like inter-Spybots comms through
IR is possible, like it is @2400 with RCX's and Scout's.

That makes this pBrick the most advanced one, comms-wise.

To me, that makes it a very usefull pBrick.
If all this is true, I will forget the nuisance of having built-in motors
like I already have on CyberMaster, MicroScout and Manas and built-in
Sensors like MicroScout.

For some projects, a Spybot could serve as an interface between a
CyberMaster and a RCX, through the use of VLL and IR using LEGO standard
firmware and comm protocols.
(CyberMaster will still be a "deaf" pBrick, this way though.)

CyberMaster<->RCX comms is already possible, using non-LEGO standard comm
protocols, etc...
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but these custom made comm routines with
standard firmware, eat memory and cpu, especially the input ones, and have a
slower bps rate.

So, at home tonight, I'll download the "newer" RIS 2.0 SDK (I
think I still
have the beta version, or something) and NQC 2.5 a1 and
hopefully figure out
what can be done with a Spybotics pBrick.

erm... I forgot I needed the Spybotics CD with all the .h header files
from the Include directory in the Spybotics :P

...so, I only had the chance to look at the nqc -api output.

Ok, slowly, I'm getting most of the info about Spybotics I want.

Let's wait for the next version of Dave Baum's NQC and John Hansen's BricxCC
with more Spybotics support :)

mc.



Message is in Reply To:
  RE: Spybotics - A great disappointment
 
(...) So, in theory, comms between CyberMaster/RCX/Scout and Spybotics is possible, provided that a fiber optic is used and an emulator is coded, although, at 4800bps I don't know if that's feasible with standard firmware and NQC. (...) INPUT ? (...) (22 years ago, 23-Jul-02, to lugnet.robotics)

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